Alan Dershowitz Speaks

A wide-ranging interview on the pressing issues facing the Jewish people today.

As is the case with most men of principle, especially lawyers, Alan Dershowitz cannot avoid controversy or criticism.

He's been called America's "most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer," "the best-known criminal lawyer in the world" and "the top lawyer of last resort," having taken up the causes of defendants as diverse as Claus von Bulow, O.J. Simpson and Jonathan Pollard.

In recent years, the most passionate causes of this distinguished defender of individual rights have been on behalf of the Jewish people -- where Mr. Dershowitz is our "most public Jewish defender," "Israel's single most visible advocate" and "the Jewish state's lead attorney in the court of public opinion."

A graduate of Brooklyn College and Yale Law School, Mr. Dershowitz, 69, joined the Harvard Law School faculty at age 25 after clerking for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. He has published widely in op-ed columns and is author of more than two dozen books with an international audience, including "Chutzpah: The Case For Israel," "Blasphemy: How the Religious Right Is Hijacking The Declaration of Independence," "Preemption: A Knife that Cuts Both Ways" and, most recently, "Finding Jefferson - A Lost Letter, A Remarkable Discovery, And The First Amendment In An Age Of Terrorism."

In 1983, the Anti-Defamation League presented him with the William O. Douglas First Amendment Award for his "compassionate eloquent leadership and persistent advocacy in the struggle for civil and human rights."

In presenting the award, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel said, "If there had been a few people like Alan Dershowitz during the 1930s and 1940s, the history of European Jewry might have been different."

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr. Dershowitz talked about the difficulties in confronting Holocaust deniers (like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and minimizers, anti-Semites, anti-Zionists, hecklers, Jewish values, international views of Israel and the prospects for peace in the Middle East.

Over the past few years, he's had much to say about all of them. Some might call his views biased, predictable or unnecessarily confrontational -- but it is difficult to deny their essential logic and moral clarity.

"I will give $10,000 to the PLO if you can find a historical fact in my book that you can prove to be false."

That was particularly the case with Norman Finkelstein, a Princeton-educated political scientist whose book, "The Holocaust Industry," argued that Israel has exploited Jewish suffering to justify its expansionist policies.

Mr. Dershowitz was accused of inappropriate meddling by actively campaigning against Mr. Finkelstein's candidacy for tenure at DePaul University, a Catholic school in Chicago. In August 2006, Mr. Finkelstein struck back, suggesting that Mr. Dershowitz be targeted "for assassination" because of his views on Israel and comparing him to a Nazi propagandist.

Mr. Dershowitz described Mr. Finkelstein as a "Holocaust-justice denier" and noted he had been embraced by Ernst Zundel, the notorious neo-Nazi who has been convicted of Holocaust denial in both Canada and Germany.

Mr. Zundel had said that Mr. Finkelstein is "exceedingly useful to the Revisionist cause. We would not be making vast inroads in Europe with our outreach program were it not for his [book]." Mr. Finkelstein has also been called the "Jewish David Irving" -- a reference to the well-known Holocaust denier and admirer of Hitler.

Mr. Dershowitz further pointed out that Mr. Finkelstein had been fired by several universities at which he had previously worked for abusing students who disagreed with his views. Mr. Finkelstein called Mr. Dershowitz's book, "The Case for Israel," "a hoax." (Replied Mr. Dershowitz: "I will give $10,000 to the PLO if you can find a historical fact in my book that you can prove to be false.")

In June of 2007, after considerable public debate, Mr. Finkelstein was denied tenure at DePaul. He resigned from the university as part of a settlement.

At a conference last year, Mr. Dershowitz said that he was opposed to criminalizing or censoring Holocaust denial speech for both practical and philosophical reasons: Not only is it wrong in principle -- censorship shows a lack of faith in the marketplace of ideas and the power of truth --- but it is counter-productive, and especially ineffective in the age of the Internet.

The most dangerous revisionists, he said, are not those who deny the Holocaust outright, but those who minimize it. "We must respond to all forms of bigotry in the marketplace of ideas, and not rely on the voracious appetite of the state's censor to do our work for us."

The worst offenders are academics with substantial scholarly credentials -- like Noam Chomsky, a linguist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has received many honorary degrees from universities around the world, and who has written that he "sees no anti-Semitic implications in denial of the existence of gas chambers or even denial of the Holocaust."

Mr. Dershowitz minces no words about Mr. Chomsky, attacking what he calls Mr. Chomsky's "zealous anti-Zionism and his flirtations with neo-Nazi revisionism and Holocaust denial." He chastised him most heatedly for his efforts to compel universities to divest from corporations that have ties to Israel, challenging him in well-publicized face-to-face formal debates at Harvard and elsewhere.

"Chomsky is not a denier. He gets in bed with deniers -- he has supported and defended Faurisson and others." (Roger Faurisson is a French history professor who argued that the gas chambers used by Nazis to exterminate Jews at Auschwitz did not exist; he was subsequently convicted of defamation for this statement, fined and given a prison sentence.)

"Finkelstein is much more a denier," Mr. Dershowitz said, "because he denies the legitimacy of victims; he says that virtually everybody who claims to be a survivor is lying -- so that comes awfully close to it. You can bring defamation actions if he'd ever specify individuals -- but he never does that. He just says that, 'Two-thirds of the people I meet in the street who claim to be survivors weren't born or were living in the Riviera.' He makes all those kinds of put-downs. 'Only my parents,' he's said, 'were survivors.'"

Mr. Dershowitz, too, has been active on college campuses, where he sees Holocaust denial and minimization increasing. "When a denier speaks on a college or university campus," he said last December in a podcast for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, "I see that as an opportunity to educate students instead of trying to ban the speaker."

The Institute for Historical Review, which places ads in college newspapers seeking to refute the Holocaust, presents a different challenge. When the IHR's chief spokesman, Bradley Smith, invited him to debate the issue, Mr. Dershowitz responded that he would do so -- but only as part of a series that would include the questions of whether slavery existed in the United States or Elvis Presley were still alive or the Earth is flat.

"We have the responsibility to stop it. We have the resources to stop it. We have the ability to stop it. And if we fail to respond to hate speech, it's our fault."

"That is the company of crackpot 'ideas' into which Holocaust denial comfortably fits. [Mr. Smith] knows he cannot win, but he would like to be able to say that Alan Dershowitz regards the issue as worthy of debate.

"It's appalling how irresponsible most American academics have been in the face of this well-organized campaign to turn our current generation of college students and our future leaders against Israel and against Jewish interests and values. We have the responsibility to stop it. We have the resources to stop it. We have the ability to stop it. And if we fail to respond to hate speech, it's our fault."

Pro-Israel speakers such as Binyamin Netanyahu and Natan Sharansky have been heavily heckled recently on Canadian campuses. How does Mr. Dershowitz handle protesters?

"I like having hecklers, because I don't try to win them over. I try to use them as a way of illustrating to the people in the middle what we're dealing with -- people who don't want to have rational debate, rational discourse. I try to use them to my advantage."

Mr. Dershowitz has written that when he was growing up, anti-Semitism determined where American Jews could work, live and go to school, and with whom they could socialize - but that none of that is true today.

"I sure hope that [Jean-Paul] Sartre was not right that the anti-Semite makes the Jew. Anti-Semitism is not a central phenomenon in the life of Americans."

The National Catholic Reporter recently published an article blaming Israel for Holocaust denial in the Middle East. When such claims seem to be spreading, how would Mr. Dershowitz respond?

"The worst abuses are those you can't control -- like when they give opinions. It's futile to try to ban them legally. What you have to do is constantly respond to it, always enter the marketplace, never ignore it. The absurdity that Israel is responsible for Holocaust denial? That's like saying the woman is responsible for rape -- blaming the victim."

Ahmadinejad is a different story. In 2005, the Iranian leader said that "Israel must be wiped off the face of the map" and "the way to peace in the Middle East is the destruction of Israel." A year later he declared that "the real cure for the conflict is elimination of the Zionist regime," which "is heading toward annihilation."

Ahmadinejad was the sponsor of a much-ballyhooed conference in Tehran in December of 2006 billed as a "Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision." Attended by delegates from 30 countries, the gathering featured an exhibit of photographs of dead Jews labeled "Myth" and "Typhus Victims," and of smiling Holocaust survivors under the heading of "Truth."

Mr. Dershowitz has called Ahmadinejad "the Hitler of the 21st century -- a dictator who denies one Holocaust in order to bring about another Holocaust."

Mr. Dershowitz and Irwin Cotler, once Canada's minister of justice and attorney general and a leading international human rights lawyer, are in the forefront of an effort to bring Ahmadinejad to trial for inciting genocide. Mr. Dershowitz has called him "the Hitler of the 21st century -- a dictator who denies one Holocaust in order to bring about another Holocaust."

But the only way to prosecute Ahmadinejad is through the International Criminal Court -- to which neither Iran nor Israel are signatories and to which the United Nations would have to refer the matter as part of international sanctions. Such a trial is not very likely to happen.

The next best way to confront Ahmadinejad, says Mr. Dershowitz, is through sanctions -- "unilateral, organizational, multi-lateral, exposure - and putting together an incitement-to-genocide dossier, bringing him to trial in the court of public opinion if we can't get a [legal] forum to bring him to trial. Also, trying to get indictments against the leaders of Iran for Argentina, for the specific crimes of killing hundreds of women and children and civilians in the two explosions that they're responsible for."

To date, there have been indictments issued, he says, but only against middle-ranking officials.
Mr. Dershowitz also notes a concerted effort at a number of elite universities to dehumanize and demonize Israel.

"When I speak on college campuses, and I speak on many, I always get calls the next day, almost in a whispered voice, 'Thank you for speaking up.' And I ask, 'Why don't you speak up?' 'Well, you know, we don't want to be unpopular with students. We don't want to get into controversial areas. We don't want to be politically incorrect.'

"I never wanted to write the book 'The Case for Israel.' [But] I had to, even though nobody has to write 'The Case for Canada' or 'The Case for France' or 'The Case for England,' because the case against Israel was being so prominently featured on American university campuses, and it was based on such ignorance that I had to get the liberal case for Israel out there based on facts. And when I did that, it was seen immediately as an enormous threat to the hard left presence on campuses."

Mr. Dershowitz recalls the birth of Israel "very vividly." Sixty years later, he is as appalled as most American Jews that Israel appears to be vilified by the international community, but cautions against unwarranted paranoia.

How best to react?

"First of all, we must continue to maintain American support. And there is more grass-roots support around the world than people sometimes think. For example, in Europe, where a lot of the elite media hate Israel, a lot of average people don't. And the fact is that most of the European leaders, from Merkel, to Brown, to Sirkozy, are not anti-Israel. So I think it's more complicated and nuanced [than what some people say]. I think there is still a good deal of good will toward Israel among average people on college campuses. I think the radicals often burn their own bridges. And what I do with the radicals is make sure to point them out as anti-American, rather than focusing only on the Israeli issue."

Mr. Dershowitz was quick to respond to "The Israel Lobby," the book by two noted professors (Stephen Walt of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago) that claimed that American foreign policy is largely (and detrimentally) controlled by Jewish interests.

"This study is so filled with distortions, so empty of originality or new evidence, so tendentious in its tone, so lacking in nuance and balance, so unscholarly in its approach, so riddled with obvious factual errors that could easily have been checked [but obviously were not], and so dependent on biased, extremist and anti-American sources, as to raise the question of motive: What would motivate two well-recognized academics to depart so grossly from their usual standards of academic writing and research."

"We need young Jews to see the strengths, the positive aspects of Judaism."

Mr. Dershowitz also has taken on Jimmy Carter, whose book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" he described as an "a-historical, one-sided brief against Israel," which "incredibly asserts that the initial violence in the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict occurred when 'Jewish militants' attacked Arabs in 1939. ... There is no mention of the long history of Palestinian terrorism before the occupation, or of the Munich massacre and others inspired by Yasser Arafat. ... This is a tragedy because the Carter Center, which has done much good in the world, could have been a force for peace if Jimmy Carter were as generous in spirit to the Israelis as he is to the Palestinians."

Although he has suggested that people spend two hours a week undertaking a constructive advocacy activity on Israel's behalf, Mr. Dershowitz sees Judaism being increasingly endangered from within, particularly through assimilation.

"I think we need young Jews to see the strengths, the positive aspects of Judaism, not only as a religion but as a culture, a civilization, as part of one's way of life."

What about making aliyah?

"It's very hard for many Americans, because life's good here. Life's good in Israel, too, though. I mean, people don't realize how good it is. The economic situation is very positive. Daily life is very good. What I've been urging people to do -- what I'm probably going to do myself -- is make a commitment to spend several months a year there - chatzi aliyah - to have a clear commitment to partially living in Israel is more realistic today for many Americans than to making a complete move."

For most Americans and Israelis concerned with civil liberties and international human rights, Alan Dershowitz is a man for all seasons.

His passion reaches its fullest eloquence when he is in the Holy Land. In March of this year, he went to Sderot to "stand in solidarity" with the townspeople there, "part of a long line of heroes," he said, "who have resisted evil and have been on the forefront of the battle against genocidal murderers.

"You are being attacked for only one reason - because Hamas [like] the Hitlers and the Hamans before them [know] that they could take advantage of Israel's higher sense of morality. ... Their main goal is to deliberately kill as many Israeli citizens; civilians, men, women, children as they possibly can. ... When they kill a Jewish civilian, they claim victory. When Israel inadvertently kills a Palestinian civilian in an effort to get at the terrorists, they [the Arabs] claim victory.

"These murderers must be stopped before their rockets hit - God forbid - a kindergarten, a school bus, a schoolyard, a hospital. They must not be allowed to continue to play Russian roulette with the lives of Jewish children. They are committing war crimes, and they are trying to commit genocidal crimes against humanity. And yet it is Israel that is condemned by the United Nations. Those who condemn Israel are complicitous in evil."

The war on Sderot, and against all Israel, said Alan Dershowitz, is a conflict "between good and evil; between those who love life and those who peddle death."

Visitor Comments: 19

Mordechai''s comments about the spiritual dimension behind the Holocaust denial are quite insightful. If we are indeed a spiritual people, then we must also address the spiritual elements involved.

(18)
Richard,
May 29, 2008 1:40 PM

Thank You!

I am currently reading one of your books and wish to thank you. I have been rather ignorant of the Israel and Palestinian issue and have started a serious study. Most of the books I have been reading have been from the critics as in Mearsheimer''s Israel Lobby, Chomsky, Said, Findley, Morris and others. Can''t thank you enough for your writings and thoughts.

I plan to buy more of your writings to read and ponder on. I am also bouncing these new learned thoughts on my retired folks who are equally enjoying this study. Thanks so much!

(17)
Mordechai,
May 20, 2008 10:47 PM

The Greatness of Mr. Dershowitz and the Consequence of Casualness

I personally hold Mr. Dershowitz in high esteem and believe that he is leading a noble crusade to combat the pathologies of the far left and global anti-Semitism. However, to a very large degree I believe that he is missing the point. In my humble opinion, his approach lacks a fundamental understanding of Jewish metaphysical "philosophy". Interestingly enough, the concept that I am referring to is the central theme of this week''s Torah portion, Bechukosai. We find in this week''s Torah portion that G-d promises the Jewish people that if they faithfully keep His mitzvos He will bless us, let us remain in Eretz Yisrael and grant success in our every endeavor. In contrast, if G-d forbid, we ignore His commandments and no longer study His Torah with diligence we will be cursed, torn asunder by our enemies and divested from our land. What is perhaps most curious and interesting to note is that which the Torah underlines to be the true underlying cause of these curses and punishments. After the first two series of punishments, G-d tells us that, "If you behave casually with Me and refuse to heed Me, then I shall lay a further blow upon you, seven ways, like your sins." (26:21) And before the fourth series G-d says, "If despite these [former punishments] you will not be chastised towards Me, and you behave casually with Me, then, I too, will behave towards you with casualness, and I will strike you seven ways, even I, for your sins." (26:23) The word(s) that I would like to underline here are "casually" that connote if you believe everything in the world is only happenstance, and not run by Divine Providence then G-d will punish the Jews, then He in turn will act casually with us. There is another concept fundamental to Judaism called mida keneged mida, which translates to "measure for measure". Every action is repaid with an equal action on G-d''s part, in either the positive or negative. This may come as a surprise, and perhaps even objectionable to many who may read this, but in my humble opinion, I purport that the absurd phenomenon of global Holocaust denial that we are witnessing today is because we ourselves are the biggest deniers of the Holocaust. That is to say, I am not pretending to know the reason for the Holocaust, however to not accept and ponder the significance of the fact the G-d brought on the Holocaust and was "personally" responsible for every last Kiddush Hashem (Jewish martyrdom) is just as much if not more of a denier than Ahmadinejad. Just as this is a denial of the spiritual reality of the Holocaust, the world is increasingly (as foretold by the Torah, for the Divine consequences only increase as denial persists) denying the physical reality of the Holocaust, which defies all logic and massive evidence to the contrary (as well the dearth of spiritual analysis precludes all logic and massive evidence to the contrary). I contend that this is the casualness of which the Torah is speaking of.Also, one must take note that the first two series of curses were brought upon by "loathing" and rejecting G-d''s Torah and mitzvos. In the following three series of punishments, the Torah only says that the Divine retributions are caused by an attitude of casualness. This would seem to imply that, at first the Jewish people did not perceive the world as a casual series of events, but rather neglected to study Torah and do mitzvos. However, as time progressed, and the Jewish people have desisted from Torah and mitzvos, their spiritual sensitivity wanes and they don''t even perceive Divine Providence, or, alternatively they may perceive it, but nevertheless have the audacity to deny it, which heretofore they were spiritually incapable of doing. The spiritual remedy, and thus physical salvation from these punishments can be found later in the Torah portion, and by now should be obvious. Verse 26:40 states, "Then they will confess their sin and the sin of their forefathers, for the treachery for which they betrayed Me [not learning Torah and doing mitzvos], and also for having behaved towards Me with casualness."(my emphasis) In order to win this war, it is not enough, albeit important, to counter the ideologues of the far left, it is not enough to raise global consciousness to realize the fallacies perpetuated by these criminals, nor does it suffice to impose international sanctions and bring Ahmadinejad to trial for inciting genocide, rather we must follow the directives of the Torah and our Sages. We must return to Torah and mitzvos. When the entire Jewish nation was located in Persia (unlike the Holocaust where only a portion, albeit large, was at the geographical disposal of Hitler) and faced extermination on what was to become known as the holiday of Purim, the Jewish people cried out for three full days, pleading and begging G-d, with heartfelt tears for the Heavenly decree to be annulled. We too, in these times of crisis, must cry out to G-d and beseech His mercy to save us from another series of dreadful punishments. Let us take the words of Mr. Dershowitz to heart, "We need young Jews to see the strengths, the positive aspects of Judaism." I can think of no greater strengths and positive aspects to Judaism than G-d''s Torah and mitzvos, our only means of cleaving to Him, growing spiritually, nourishing our souls and fulfilling our purpose in life. Let us come together as one Jewish people and come back to G-d.

(16)
Buchenwald''s Daughter,
May 15, 2008 5:37 PM

Young American Pseudo-Intellectuals

Thank you Mr. Dershowitz and Aish.com~~I found this article very empowering. My father survived three concentration camps and I have encountered some fans of Finkelstein on myspace.com and some other social networks. It made me feel extremely unsafe for several months to see this hate-monger being venerated. I am a younger 2nd generation and it frightens me that this crackpot appeals to Generation X, Y & Z. These young Americans want to do something to stop the increase in genocide and war ~~by hating Israelis and Jews they feel that they have ''found a solution''~just like someone else we survived about 70 years ago! They even see to justify the Finkelstein excrement with ''facts'' They love to quote and repost photos from this misleading website : www.ifamericansonlyknew.com. Which portrays Jews and Israelis as the enthusiastic killers Palestinian children. I was shocked to discover people I thought were intelligent championing this lunatic. The generation X, Y and Z''ers that I knew were successful musicians and now live in Europe now as ex-patriots. Their anti-semitism emerged as a dominant theme in their blog writing and in their photos as they also discovered that they needed to find an extreme viewpoint to adopt to distinguish themselves from other "evil" Americans. Swallowing anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda is a new way for younger Generation X, Y & Z Americans to identify themselves as ''good'' Americans~different from their baby boomer parents who they blame for all the world''s problems too. They seem to think that taking this stand will make them seem more educated and like ''good world citizens''. Finkelstein and Chomsky appeal to young pseudo-Intellectual Americans which frightens me. If we do not turn our economy around, get out of this war and change our foreign policy soon, I fear the anti-semitic and anti-Israeli sentiments will continue to catch on with a young group of Americans that is losing its foothold in the world economy.

(15)
Sarah,
May 15, 2008 10:18 AM

First Amendment

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Our founding fathers Adams and Jefferson paved the way so that future citizens like Mr. Dershowitz can write, argue, speak and challenge those that deny Israel''s past history and future existence. Not all of us have his education, but we are all capable of speaking, disagreeing and writing. We must, for now and future generations.

(14)
yosef,
May 14, 2008 10:10 PM

Misunderstanding

"You are being attacked for only one reason - because Hamas [like] the Hitlers and the Hamans before them [know] that they could take advantage of Israel''s higher sense of morality. ..." HOLD ON THERE do you think that it is moral to allow your nation to be killed because you cant stand to kill your enemies? NO! it is immoral not to defend your citizens from enemy attack! Israels moral standing is not "high" it is not even jewish.It is twisted and contorted to such an extent that it will not protect its own ppl from its enemies per chance they might hurt their foes , "well" the israelis say "im sure they can put up with those rockets if it makes the arabs happy" -and "mabe we can have peace" even if all the jews are dead. But anything for peace.

(13)
Lil Tobin,
May 14, 2008 7:09 PM

Jewish Education

What defines Jews is education and knowledge of who we are. Mr. Dershowitz would not be the passionate advocate he is, were it not for his Jewish background. Our greatest challenge is to regain our youth,most of whom are lost in a sea of ignorance who do not know,of the beauty and wisdom of their own heritage. We must find a way to re-ignite Jewish pride and passion for our people, our tradition and our values!This is the job of every mother and father who will raise children who will be proud and knowledgable defenders of our people and of Israel. Perhaps we will even be lucky enough to get many more such spokespersons as Alan Dershowitz.Too many of our Jewish students are too easily intimidated by some liberal professors of ignorance who seek stature by peddling their bigotry because it is the popular thing to do.

(12)
darren titan,
May 14, 2008 11:18 AM

Really Good Article

I liked it a lot and I am glad he is working on our behalf. G-d willing, all of our problems will be over soon and We can ALL join together in serving Hashem

(11)
Gary Katz,
May 14, 2008 10:58 AM

Beverly Kurtin makes a good point

Beverly Kurtin correctly points out that the so-called "Palestinians" are no more than Arabs who happen to live in Gaza and the West Bank. Given how these particular Arabs are used by Muslim leaders to vilify Israel (and to distract the Muslim masses from their own problems at home), perhaps the Israeli Arabs should be called "Pawnestinians."

(10)
Anonymous,
May 14, 2008 12:09 AM

beautifully written, he should be heard more just likke Rebatzin Jungreis Should keep going from one college to the next to wake up our children

great article

(9)
Beverly Kurtin,
May 13, 2008 3:53 PM

There ain''t no such an animal as a Palestinian

Why does Israel and the rest of the world accept the use of stolen name Palestinian? Palestinians were the Jews who have continuously lived in what the Romans called Palestine to rub the Jew''s noses in the dirt by renaming Israel to Palestine after the destructoin of the Temple in 70 CE.

Only after the 1967 shellacking that was handed to the Arabs did the outcasts and dregs of the Arab society steal the name and called themselves Palestinians to try to legitimize their presence.

There has NEVER been any group of people called the Palestinian Nation: NEVER!

(8)
Anonymous,
May 13, 2008 3:29 PM

We are so lucky to have Alan Dershowitz!!

We can all learn something from Mr. Dershowitz and we are fortunate to have him...so articulate!

(7)
Anonymous,
May 12, 2008 10:43 PM

So very real

His comments are so true as I have been saying myself all along, Ahminedjad,Carter and many others must be stopped! Maybe they should be taken on a tour of the camps in Europe!
The universities around the world should continue to educate about the past and realistically about the future! Keep the lines of communication open.
excellent article and keep up the good work!

(6)
Ari Stotleman,
May 12, 2008 9:39 PM

Professor Dershowitz is a genius. I read THE CASE FOR ISRAEL. Beautifully written. Should be required reading in all colleges! I just can''t understand why he''s a Democrat!

(5)
Ben Jacobson,
May 12, 2008 8:45 PM

We must find more people llike Dershowitz, to help our cause

We must be grateful for what has been done, in defense of our beloved Israel.However,There must be others, like Dirshowitz, and they most come to the fore, and quickly to bring about PEACE!

(4)
MichaelF,
May 12, 2008 6:42 PM

Thank G-D for Alan Dershowitz!

Mr. Dershowitz has always exceled as a defender of human rights and of the Jewish people. I wish we had more like him.

(3)
thomas eby,
May 12, 2008 5:52 PM

Holocaust denial

Mr. Dershowitz is a passionate and committed man in defense of the truth. Though it is only right that he defend against the holocaust deniers I would remind all about what General Eisenhour said when he came upon the mangled and starved corpses at Auschwitz. He told everyone there that pictures and reports must be preserved for the future because there will be deniers in the future of what has happened here and all over Europe. There are still many soldiers living today that were eye witnesses to this scene. Instead of all the debates why does someone not tell the deniers that we want their proof that the holicaust never happened? If they dance around the question then they will be told they are liars without any proof of their lies. Makes sense to me.

(2)
shira macklin,
May 12, 2008 3:51 PM

very good article. i wish i were as articulate as the situation often requires us to be. and yes to chaatzi aliyah. better than nothing.

(1)
Victor Hafichuk,
May 12, 2008 1:31 PM

In Full Agreement

I fully agree with Mr. Dershowitz and am thankful there are men like him to speak up, with truth, fact, intelligence and integrity.

I just got married and have an important question: Can we eat rice on Passover? My wife grew up eating it, and I did not. Is this just a matter of family tradition?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Torah instructs a Jew not to eat (or even possess) chametz all seven days of Passover (Exodus 13:3). "Chametz" is defined as any of the five grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye) that came into contact with water for more than 18 minutes. Chametz is a serious Torah prohibition, and for that reason we take extra protective measures on Passover to prevent any mistakes.

Hence the category of food called "kitniyot" (sometimes referred to generically as "legumes"). This includes rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Even though kitniyot cannot technically become chametz, Ashkenazi Jews do not eat them on Passover. Why?

Products of kitniyot often appear like chametz products. For example, it can be hard to distinguish between rice flour (kitniyot) and wheat flour (chametz). Also, chametz grains may become inadvertently mixed together with kitniyot. Therefore, to prevent confusion, all kitniyot were prohibited.

In Jewish law, there is one important distinction between chametz and kitniyot. During Passover, it is forbidden to even have chametz in one's possession (hence the custom of "selling chametz"). Whereas it is permitted to own kitniyot during Passover and even to use it - not for eating - but for things like baby powder which contains cornstarch. Similarly, someone who is sick is allowed to take medicine containing kitniyot.

What about derivatives of kitniyot - e.g. corn oil, peanut oil, etc? This is a difference of opinion. Many will use kitniyot-based oils on Passover, while others are strict and only use olive or walnut oil.

Finally, there is one product called "quinoa" (pronounced "ken-wah" or "kin-o-ah") that is permitted on Passover even for Ashkenazim. Although it resembles a grain, it is technically a grass, and was never included in the prohibition against kitniyot. It is prepared like rice and has a very high protein content. (It's excellent in "cholent" stew!) In the United States and elsewhere, mainstream kosher supervision agencies certify it "Kosher for Passover" -- look for the label.

Interestingly, the Sefardi Jewish community does not have a prohibition against kitniyot. This creates the strange situation, for example, where one family could be eating rice on Passover - when their neighbors will not. So am I going to guess here that you are Ashkenazi and your wife is Sefardi. Am I right?

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (1194-1270), known as Nachmanides, and by the acronym of his name, Ramban. Born in Spain, he was a physician by trade, but was best-known for authoring brilliant commentaries on the Bible, Talmud, and philosophy. In 1263, King James of Spain authorized a disputation (religious debate) between Nachmanides and a Jewish convert to Christianity, Pablo Christiani. Nachmanides reluctantly agreed to take part, only after being assured by the king that he would have full freedom of expression. Nachmanides won the debate, which earned the king's respect and a prize of 300 gold coins. But this incensed the Church: Nachmanides was charged with blasphemy and he was forced to flee Spain. So at age 72, Nachmanides moved to Jerusalem. He was struck by the desolation in the Holy City -- there were so few Jews that he could not even find a minyan to pray. Nachmanides immediately set about rebuilding the Jewish community. The Ramban Synagogue stands today in Jerusalem's Old City, a living testimony to his efforts.

It's easy to be intimidated by mean people. See through their mask. Underneath is an insecure and unhappy person. They are alienated from others because they are alienated from themselves.

Have compassion for them. Not pity, not condemning, not fear, but compassion. Feel for their suffering. Identify with their core humanity. You might be able to influence them for the good. You might not. Either way your compassion frees you from their destructiveness. And if you would like to help them change, compassion gives you a chance to succeed.

It is the nature of a person to be influenced by his fellows and comrades (Rambam, Hil. De'os 6:1).

We can never escape the influence of our environment. Our life-style impacts upon us and, as if by osmosis, penetrates our skin and becomes part of us.

Our environment today is thoroughly computerized. Computer intelligence is no longer a science-fiction fantasy, but an everyday occurrence. Some computers can even carry out complete interviews. The computer asks questions, receives answers, interprets these answers, and uses its newly acquired information to ask new questions.

Still, while computers may be able to think, they cannot feel. The uniqueness of human beings is therefore no longer in their intellect, but in their emotions.

We must be extremely careful not to allow ourselves to become human computers that are devoid of feelings. Our culture is in danger of losing this essential aspect of humanity, remaining only with intellect. Because we communicate so much with unfeeling computers, we are in danger of becoming disconnected from our own feelings and oblivious to the feelings of others.

As we check in at our jobs, and the computer on our desk greets us with, "Good morning, Mr. Smith. Today is Wednesday, and here is the agenda for today," let us remember that this machine may indeed be brilliant, but it cannot laugh or cry. It cannot be happy if we succeed, or sad if we fail.

Today I shall...

try to remain a human being in every way - by keeping in touch with my own feelings and being sensitive to the feelings of others.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...